The Subclass of Sloth
by Sanura Bey
Summary: Kokoro only had her brother until she found Shouta sleeping on the ground. Hundreds of years later, she searches Tokyo for Shouta only to find him as Kuro in the apartment of a young boy.
1. Mahiru, Kuro, and Kokoro

_I ran around in the snow playing games with my older brother with a broad smile on my face. The ball flew over my head, and I frowned at it._

_"You threw it too high!" I complained to Anji before sticking my tongue out at him._

_"Well then go get it!" he laughed at me. I pouted before doing as he said. I ran and grabbed the ball when I noticed a small black figure being buried in the snow. I knelt next to it, and it looked up at me with sleepy red eyes. "Kokoro! What's taking so long?" I dropped the ball and picked up the black cat and held it close to me._

_"Big brother! look what I found!" I ran back to him with a smile on my face and showed him the sleepy cat. "Can we keep him? Please?" He looked down at my hopeful face with sadness before nodding._

_"Yeah." He placed a gentle hand on my head before grabbing one of my hands. "Let's go." We walked home, him thinking and me smiling at the small cat in my other hand. "What will you name him?" I looked up at Anji in confusion. "He needs a name." I looked down at the cat who seemed to be watching me with curious eyes._

_"Shouta." I looked up and smiled at Anji._

* * *

"That damn cat," I muttered looking around for Shouta. I kept my hood pulled up over my head to block me from the sun. I'd been looking in every alley I could find to search the shadows for the cat that I'd followed here. I bumped shoulders with a boy in a high school uniform, and he tripped over my feet.

"Hey! You should watch where you're going!" he turned and shouted at me.

"You're the one who bumped into me kid," I pointed out. "Hey, have you seen a black cat sitting around here?"

"A black cat?"

"Yeah, he's extremely lazy and will eat you out of house and home." I could almost hear the complaint from his yawn now. "Oh, and he has red eyes."

"You're Kuro's owner?" he asked getting up, and I stared at him. He named Shouta? "He's in my apartment." He motioned for me to follow him and I did. Was this kid really that trusting? Or just stupid? I followed him up to his apartment while staring at him in confusion. "He's slept most the time since I picked him up."

"Where did you pick him up?" I asked him.

"On the way home from school the other day," he told me. "I hope he didn't get into trouble while I was gone."

"Trust me, he tries his hardest to stay out of trouble," I told him, and this time he looked at me confused before opening his door. "Kitten, I'm home. I brought your owner with me."

"Today's gourmet spot is a hidden little piece of paradise in the shopping district." I heard a voice say and I sighed. There's Shouta, same as always.

"I thought I turned the TV off before I went to school," the kid said.

"You probably did." I stepped into the room to find Shouta watching TV while eating ramen.

"I'm telling you," the woman on the TV laughed. "It's that good!"

"You're such a mess," I sighed looking at the large tea bottle, stacks of manga, and trash in front of him. He looked back at the two of us, ramen still hanging from his mouth.

"Huh?" the kid asked confused. "What... the crap...?" Shouta slurped up the last of his ramen as the kid behind me started to freak out. "Who are you?!"

"This is going to be so troublesome I could just die," Shouta complained.

"Die later," I told him as I knelt next to him. "I'm hungry, so we need to go."

"Have some ramen." He handed me his half-eaten ramen, and I gave him a look.

"It's mostly broth now," I complained.

"You must be crazy!" the kid yelled at us. "You can't just break into someone else's house!" I moved back as the kid attacked Shouta with a mop. Shouta jumped up and flipped behind him.

"Wow, you're a pretty violent kid, huh?" Shouta asked him. "You got me spooked. I'm shaking in my boots." The kid moved to attack him again but tripped, and I quickly jumped out of the way as he grabbed the curtain and allowed the sunlight to stream in turning Shouta into a cat.

"Kuro?" he asked confused before closing the curtain, revealing Shouta's other form.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing?" Shouta asked him. "We're not supposed to be in the sunlight, so keep those shut okay?"

"Wha-? What in the world are you?" the kid asked in fear.

"Nothing special," Shouta told him. "I'm just a kind-hearted shut-in. One who happens to be a vampire."

"That's it, you're going out the window," the kid told him pulling on the tails of Shouta's coat towards the window.

"No! What's wrong with you?" Shouta asked him trying to grab onto the floor to stop him. "I'm a vampire; you can't throw me out in the sun! I'll die! I mean, okay, technically I'm immortal, but still... How come you humans are such mean creatures?"

"Shut up, evil spirit!" the kid shouted.

"I know what you mean," I sighed. "No one but this kid wanted to even help me find my poor lost cat." Shouta turned his glare at me and I smirked at him.

"Wait, a vampire?" the kid suddenly said. "Are you that street slasher? Did you come here to bite me and drink all my blood?!"

"No thanks," I said waving my hand in front of my face.

"You're a... vampire too?" I nodded at the kid's question.

"Sounds like a lot of work. Why would I bother going through so much trouble?" Shouta asked him. "And what makes you think you're the kinds person I'd bite? You think highly of yourself."

"Isn't that just what vampires do?!"

"Maybe don't jump to conclusions when you're judging people," Shouta told him. "Actually, I am getting pretty thirsty. Could you make me some tea?"

"You have a bottle right in front of you," I reminded him.

"I want hot tea," he begged and I sighed.

"Where is it?"

"Don't go in my kitchen and make tea!" the kid groaned. "I don't even know where to begin with you two!"

"Maybe start by cooling down a bit," Shouta suggested as I started to boil the water. "We can get out of your way once it gets dark. Until then make sure you don't say my name while I'm in human form."

"Huh? How would I do that?" the kid asked. "I have no idea who you are! I only know what I called you as a cat. Kuro!" I went back into the living room to see the blue light surround Kuro's neck and the kid's wrist before surrounding them both in a circle.

"What an idiot," I sighed as the kettle started to scream at me. I went back into the kitchen and poured Kuro a cup of tea

"You're so stupid I could die."

"What the hell just happened?!"

"I hate this."

"Stop ignoring me, cat! Explain!" the kid ordered shaking him.

"Explaining is such a pain." I pushed the kid off him before handing him his tea.

"Start talking right now! I want simple answers!"

"You sure are demanding, aren't you?"

"You're the one who got lost and got picked up by him," I told him. "Hey, what's your name anyway?" I asked the kid.

"Mahiru." He introduced. "Now, I want my answers."

"Okay," Kuro said. "I'll begin with something that's pretty obvious. you and I would die before ever getting along."

"Yeah? You know, I was thinking the exact same thing!"

* * *

"Wait, so you're basically a pet vampire?" Mahiru asked us while vacuuming Kuro's mess.

"Ugh, how to explain...? Vampires like me only drink blood from the master we have a contract with. And we follow our masters' orders, even if they're bothersome. There's a name for vampires like me. But there's really no point in telling you if I'm being honest." Kuro told him munching on a fresh bag of chips.

"Hey, could you at least try and not get crumbs everywhere?!" Mahiru yelled at him. "If he's a pet vampire then what kind are you?"

"You don't need to worry about her," Kuro told him. I looked at Kuro before turning my eyes back to the boy. "We won't be here long enough for you have to worry about our mess.

"So just now, please don't tell me I accidentally made a contract with you," Mahiru sighed.

"Sort of," Kuro said playing with the bell around his neck. "But it was a temporary one."

"How long does it last?"

"If I don't drink your blood in the next 24 hours, it'll be automatically canceled," Kuro explained. "So you don't need to worry."

"24 hours, huh?" Mahiru asked. "All right." Mahiru picked up Kuro, dropping more crumbs onto the floor, and placed him outside the door. I followed and walked outside the apartment. "Then go somewhere else. See ya never."

"Shouldn't you have told him about..." Something hit the door har in front of me and I sighed. Mahiru opened the door and stared at us.

"Not as easy as that," Kuro told him. "Until the contract is canceled, we have to stay close together. Those are the rules. I can't believe I have to stay chained to you all day."

"Trust me. The feeling is mutual." Mahiru pulled Kuro back inside with the still-forming contract chain.

* * *

"How did you manage to make such a mess so fast?" Mahiru asked vacuuming on top of Kuro's body.

"Ow! Ah!" Kuro grunted in pain. "Why are you so abusive towards a cute little pet? What would your parents say if they saw you now? Uh, where are they, anyway?"

"My mom... she died in an accident a long time ago," Mahiru told us. "I was all alone after that. My relatives don't really know what to do with me. Fortunately, my uncle ended up taking me in. If it hadn't been for him, I don't know what would have happened to me."

_"Big brother!"_

"Oh, I get it," Kuro said. "That's why you felt sorry for a little stray and decided to take me home. What an idiot. Look at what an annoying mess you've gotten us into." Kuro turned so his back to Mahiru and stared at me. I nodded to him with a smile. I'd be okay.

"How am I the source of this problem?!" Mahiru shouted at him. "Oh, I forgot. I have to run errands."

"Not possible," Kuro told him. "Forget about them. You and I still can't be separated yet." Mahiru picked up Kuro and moved to his shoes.

"Okay, then you'll have to come with me," Mahiru told us.

"Are you crazy? I can't face the sunlight, stupid. Remember?" Kuro reminded him. "Kokoro! Don't leave me alone with him!"

"It's getting dark," Mahiru told him. "You'll be fine." Mahiru opened the door and I shied away from the sun as Kuro was transformed into a cat. As the door closed we heard glass breaking behind us. Mahiru stopped and stared behind him before running off. I stared at the closed door, with a glare, before following the pair.

* * *

"Wait," one of Mahiru's friends said after Mahiru told him everything that had happened. "This cat and girl? They're vampires?"

"Exactly! Just like Sakuya said earlier! That rumor about vampires is true! These two are actually super evil!" Mahiru told them and I grabbed Kuro from his hands and held him in my arms. "Ugh! Why isn't Sakuya here? He'd be all over this!"

"Um... is this a joke?" Mahiru's brunette friend asked him.

"That's just a cat and a girl. For real," the blonde said.

"No! That cat can turn into a human!" Mahiru told his friends before looking back at Kuro. "C'mon Kuro. Speak! Show 'em what I'm talking about! Why don't you say something?" Kuro just yawned in my arms.

"Uh... Mahiru..."

"What?!"

"You're tired, aren't you?" the brunette asked.

"For sure," the blonde agreed. "You've overloaded yourself."

"That's not it!" Mahiru contradicted. "Um... Let's see. How can I prove I'm telling the truth?" I noticed a shadow in the window and glared at it before a voice sounded behind us.

"Greetings and salutations!" the man said with open arms. The man had on a white suit with a pink undershirt. He wore a white tophat that had pink and purple stripes on the base. His long pink hair was in a low ponytail and he grinned at us, his eyes covered by pink and purple glasses. "Students, as you wander down the worthless path of youth, why not stop a moment and watch my amazing show?" He reached into his hat and pulled out three swords with pink hilts and yellow guards that each had two pink stars on them. The crowd applauded him and he held his arms open. "Thank you, thank you, thank you for your applause!"

"Huh?"

"Amazing!" the brunette said. "It's some kind of street performance!"

"Just lame magic tricks," the blonde commented. "Let's go." He turned and walked away from us before a hand was placed on his shoulder.

"Hey, kid." the kid turned to stare at him.

"Uh... why are you touching me?"

"That's a good question. "Tell me, audience... Why do you think I stopped this petulant little brat, huh? Anyone? Was it one, because he ignored me? Two, because he cut in front of me? Three, because I'm very hungry?" I clenched Kuro closer to me at those words. Another Subclass? But which of the Servamps would be stupid enough to cause such a large scene? Kuro moved to the back of my shoulder so he could hang on and hide. "Or four, um... because he ignored me?! The answer is..." the Subclass bit into the kid's neck making the crowd scream in terror. "All of the above! This idiot's dead! And I'll kill anyone else who ignores me!" He dropped the kid and Mahiru and the other one ran to their friend.

"No, Ryusei!" The crowd ran screaming around us as the Subclass laughed at them.

"Thank you! Thank you!" the Subclass was swinging around on one of the posts store owners would hang promotions off of. "I love your enthusiastic cheers!" I watched as Mahiru did what he could to help his friend. "The crowds always get more excited about bloodshed than they do about magic. I guess its because it's much more rare to see a vampire on the street than a magician, right?"

"Another vampire?" Mahiru asked fearfully.

"You should know. Yes!" the Subclass shouted at him. "You picked one up. Right? Yesterday. And found another today."

"Why would you do something like this?" Mahiru asked him. "Who are you? Are you a friend of Kuro and Kokoro's?" The Subclass made a buzzer noise at the question before dropping to the ground.

"No! I hate that little black cat and his little girl! Bleh! Bleh! The absolute worst!" He pulled out another three swords from his hat. "That's why I'll skewer you if you try and protect them."

"Good thing there's no need for that," I said drawing his attention to me.

"Let's hear some applause, yes?" he asked excitedly. "But where's your master? Come one out, kitten! Where are you, Sleepy Ash? Make an entrance. Give us a show! Vampires should show a little bravado! Let's kill all these humans."

"That's not my style."

"Then I guess I'll just have to skewer you a few times to draw him out! After all, he wishes it to be this way-" Kuro kicked him in the face forcing him through the glass shop window behind him.

"Kuro! Kokoro! What's that guy talking about?" Mahiru asked him.

"More importantly, for now... let's run!" Kuro ran away in his cat form.

"Huh? Hey, wait! Kuro!" Mahiru grabbed Kuro's tail and my hood to stop him, but only ended with us getting pulled along with him. Kuro pulled us into an alley before Mahiru actually was able to stop him. "Why are you running away, you dumb cat?"

"Let me go!"

"My friends are back there!"

"There's no way I can hold my own against a crazy vampire like that one," Kuro told him. "We should go."

"But you're a crazy vampire, too! Can't you do something to help?" Mahiru asked him.

"I don't know who that guy is," Kuro told Mahiru. "I've got nothing to do with this."

"No way! He just attacked my friend!" Mahiru reminded us. "If we leave now, then we leave everyone in danger. Someone has to stop him!"

"What a pain," Kuro sighed. "'I can't do anything.' 'I don't have the power to change things.' 'Someone should do something about this.' 'Someone.' 'Someone else.' Everyone always says stuff like that. Sounds like the right mindset to me." Mahiru ran away from us and back towards his friends.

"Are you really going to let them fight alone?" I asked Kuro.

"Why should we get out of here," he told me and I stared at the entrance Mahiru had disappeared from. "Kokoro?"

"You can only go so far from the kid," I reminded him. "They'll die if we do nothing."

"This isn't our fight."

"Isn't it?" I asked giving him a small smile. "That Subclass was looking for the two of us and now he's attacking the humans to get to us. I don't know about you, but that makes it feel like this is our fight."

"Kokoro, I'm ordering you not to fight."

"Since when have I ever listened to your orders?" I asked him before going to help Mahiru. I pulled Mahiru off the vampire before pulling out one of my daggers and attacking him.

"So the little Subclass makes her appearance?" the Subclass grinned at me. "Ready to die?!"

"Not gonna happen!" He attacked me with his first sword and I blocked it but he grabbed one of his others and made a piercing strike. I dodged, but not in time. He managed to scratch my side and I jumped away from him placing my hand on my side.

"Ooo! Looks like I got a slice," he grinned at me while I glared at him. He attacked again but instead of aiming for me he went towards Mahiru.

"No!" I tried to get ahead of him, but I knew I wouldn't be fast enough. He sword went through flesh and my eyes widened at the scene in front of me. Kuro had managed to get between the two and was stabbed in the right side of his chest. Kuro had grabbed the blade in order to stop it from piercing Mahiru behind him.

"You're so bothersome that I could just die," Kuro complained.

"You can't complain when you're the one who stepped in front of a sword," I told him. Kuro forced the pair away from each other.

"I don't know how either of you thinks I can help in this situation," Kuro continued before pulling the sword out of his chest. "I'm weak; it's been hundreds of years since I've had even a drop of blood. At this point, I'm practically more of a cat than a vampire."

"Kuro..."

"Get out of here," Kuro ordered the kid. "I'll try to stop him, but I probably can't do much on my own."

"It's a good thing you're on your own," I said moving next to him.

"No," he told me. "You have to get them out of here. I don't want you anywhere near this."

"I'm not leaving you!" Suddenly, an arm appeared in Kuro's mouth forcing him to bite down and draw blood.

"Let's do something about this together! You with me?" Mahiru removed his arm and Kuro licked the blood off his chin. The blue light from earlier appeared again only this time, they were a fully formed chain.

"I knew you were gonna be trouble from the start," Kuro told him as the chain connected on the back of his neck. "But I didn't think you'd go this far. Kuro's hands had formed into black claws. "I guess there's no use fighting it. You're my Eve now."

"He made a contract," the Subclass I'd nearly forgotten about said. "This could be a problem for me." He pulled out a deck of cards and pulled them apart and they started to flip around. "I know what to call true vampires who make contract with humans." The cards made three lines that read: SERVANT + VAMPIRE = SERVAMP. "It's written in the cards here. You are a Servamp!"

"Meow." The Subclass pulled out another sword with a giggle. "So... what should we do?"

"We'll defeat him!" Kuro scratched the side of his head with his claws.

"I think you've read one too many shonen manga. I really don't want to face him." With a grin on his face, he stood up and slashed at the Subclass, creating a harsh wind. "Unfortunately, Servamps have to obey their masters' orders. Fine, then. I take no responsibility for my actions from now on. I'll submit to your command." Kuro attacked him cutting him across his chest. Kuro grabbed him by his pink hair and lifted him up.

"Kuro. Hold on. That's enough!" Mahiru told him. "He can't move anymore. He's not a danger to us. Stop." Kuro looked between the two of us before opening his mouth, revealing his fangs. Mahiru pulled on the chain to get him to not bite the Subclass. "No! I'm the one who has to take all the responsibility for your actions now, right? That means you have to listen to me, Kuro!" Kuro eventually dropped the pink haired magician and I smiled softly at him.

"You brat, you brat, you brat!" the Subclass growled. "How dare you? You just boarded the deadly vampire parade headed straight to hell!" he coughed spitting up blood as he did so. "It's a runaway train with no stops in between, you pointless waste of blood! That's a wrap. I guess I'll end the show here for now." He put on his hat and turned into his doll form.

"Uh... what just happened?" Mahiru picked up the doll and stared at it. "Is he, uh... dead?" the Subclass laughed while kicking his feet.

"Of course I'm not! I'm a vampire, you stupid, stupid, stupid human." Kuro pierced his hat with his claws and started to shake him. "Stop! Don't shake me. I get bad motion sickness."

"So who are you?" Mahiru asked him. "Why would you come after another vampire, one of your own, like Kuro?"

"Because obviously, that's what my orders were," he told us.

"Your orders?"

"Of course, idiot. You see I have a master, too."

"Subclass vampires serve under the orders of their Servamp," I explained to him. "I serve under Kuro."

"My Servamp's name is Tsubaki and does he hate Sloth!" the doll said. "Do you hear that? You've got some pretty powerful enemies, kitty."

"Maybe, but I don't think I know anyone by the name of Tsubaki," Kuro told him.

"That's right. You don't know him, Servamp," the doll said. "Poor, poor, poor Tsubaki. No one knows who he is! That's why he wants blood to rain down. That's why Tsubaki wants to kill so badly! To destroy his siblings, humans, society... The whole world! He wants everyone who doesn't know who he is to die!"

"It's not my fault I don't know who this guy is," Kuro told him. "What a pain." The chain and claws disappeared in a flash and the doll was dropped back to the ground.

"The chains are gone. What happened?"

"The chains are still there," I told him. "But they disappear after a time. The power boots Kuro received from your blood is gone too." Kuro dropped to his knees before falling to his stomach.

"Whoa, hey, Kuro, are you all right?" Kuro grabbed my pant leg and pulled me down to his side.

"Quite the opposite, really," Kuro told him. "My body is definitely going to be sore tomorrow. This is your fault."

"You're complaining about sore muscles?" I laid down next to him before he turned back into a cat. I curled my body around him before falling asleep.


	2. Tsubaki

When I woke up, I was laying on the sofa in Mahiru's apartment. I sat up before Mahiru walked in holding Kuro in his hands. The vampire jumped from his arms to my shoulder and stared up at him.

"Everything okay?" I asked him.

"Yeah," he muttered, but he still seemed unsure.

"Did yesterday happen?" he asked me.

"Yea." His eyes widened before he ran back to his room. I got up and grabbed snacks for the day before packing them in Mahiru's backpack. I, like Kuro, had a cat form and I transformed before laying on the counter next to his bag. He ran out of the room with Kuro in his arms. I jumped in the bag before he packed up Kuro. He zipped us up before running to school.

* * *

"Ryusei!" Mahiru shouted as I heard a door open.

"Oh. Hey, Mahiru," I heard an unfamiliar voice greet.

"Sakuya! Is Ryusei okay?" I felt us move before coming to a stop as Mahiru spoke. I actually tried doing school once. It was boring so I quit and Kuro and I left the area. I heard a small gasp and a sad 'no' before I heard Mahiru gasp in fear.

"Look alive!" I heard someone say before another grunted in pain. This voice sounded familiar to me. "That's the kinda tape you needed, right?"

"Ryusei!" Mahiru shouted in happy shock.

"Huh?"

"Hey. So you decided to come after all," someone else said happily. I yawned before curling up and falling asleep next to Kuro.

* * *

Later in the day, I woke up to Kuro and the other vampire fighting in the bag. We were already crammed in here and they were doing this.

"Hey!" Kuro shouted at him.

"I keep getting cat hair in my mouth!" the pinkette complained.

"Well, we were here first!" I reminded him.

"What the hell?" Mahiru asked and I looked up to see him looking in the bag at us. He picked up the vampire doll as Kuro and I jumped on his shoulders. "When'd you get in here?"

"I'm so very hungry!" the vampire complained. "Please just let me have a little bit of blood! Pretty please!"

"Keep it down and tell me why everyone is being so weird," Mahiru ordered him. "It's like yesterday didn't even happen!"

"What's with that boy?" I heard a girl from behind us ask.

"Is he yelling at a doll?" Mahiru turned to see people staring at him before turning red and squeezing the pinkette back into the bag.

"Ow ow ow ow ow! What are you doing you stupid little brat? I hope Tsubaki murders you soon!" After getting the doll back in the bag, Mahiru quickly walked away from the area.

"Who is this Tsubaki guy he keeps talking about?" Mahiru asked us as he walked. "You sure that name doesn't ring a bell?"

"No, and I can't imagine who'd want to hurt a cute, loveable cat like yours truly," Kuro told him.

"Stop pretending you're some kinda harmless kittens and not vampires."

"Meow," Kuro yawned.

"Let's think about it in simple terms. This Tsubaki person is obviously our enemy. If we don't do something about him, he might send more vampires to attack you two... and me." It suddenly started raining on us and I stared up to still see the sun shining down on us. "Huh? Sunshine while it's raining?"

"I don't remember hearing anything about rain today," I said offhandedly. Mahiru continued walking until a blood red barrier surrounded us.

"What is this?!" Mahiru asked as it closed around us.

"Hey, you." Mahiru turned to a person walking towards us in traditional Japanese clothing. "Why don't you tell me a story? Something good. I want to know about the most interesting thing that's happened to you." The man stopped in front of us far enough away not to do anything with any weapon that might be on him, but still close enough to make me uncomfortable.

"Tell him how your kitties turned out to be vampires! Or maybe how you used them to try and murder a brilliant street magician who was just putting on a good show!"

"I have a feeling this is going to be a real pain," Kuro complained.

"Wait- so is he... a vampire, too?" Mahiru asked fearfully.

"I'm guessing that's Tsubaki," I told him. The vampire started laughing like crazy until sighing and staring at us again.

"I'm already bored." Kuro moved behind Mahiru's neck and grabbed my tail to pull me back as well.

"What, are you trying to hide, now?" Mahiru asked him as he moved back to Mahiru's shoulder. "Wait- Do you know this guy or something?"

"Not a clue," Kuro answered. "But he's got a real crazy look in his eyes."

"Wonderful," Tsubaki said. "I've been looking for this fiend." He pulled the pinkette from Mahiru's backpack and my eyes widened at him. He was fast! "Thanks for picking him up for me. Mahiru looked down to realize his backpack wasn't on him now. I changed back to my human form and stood slightly in front of Mahiru, glaring at the vampires in front of me.

"Ugh, it was so cramped in there," the pinkette complained again. "You're very late, my precious Tsu-Tsu."

"Precious... Tsu-Tsu?"

"But you did come for me. I'll forgive you, Tsu-Tsu."

"That's just weird," I shuttered at the interaction between the pair before Tsubaki started moving towards us.

"That was fast," Mahiru said. "Why's he here?"

"This might not be the best time to ask questions," Kuro told him. "We should get out of here while we can."

"And where do you suggest we go?" I asked him. "We're in his barrier and I doubt he'll be letting us go anytime soon." Tsubaki was suddenly in front of us and I pushed Mahiru back more.

"Yes. I am the one called Tsubaki. So what? I'm the one who's chosen to challenge the three of you. So what? And I'm also the one who wants to massacre lots and lots of vampires and humans. So what?" He grabbed Kuro by his face and threw him to the ground making him transform to his human form. He used his other hand to grab my throat. "I'm feeling a bit bored and depressed today. You know what would help, Sleepy Ash of Sloth? You could tell me a really interesting story. If you don't, I'll have no choice-" He pulled me towards him making my back hit his chest. "I'll have to pay you back for what you did to Belkia and we'll have to go to war."

"Huh?" Mahiru asked confused. "What are you even talking about?"

"Come on, big brother."

"Wait, what? You're Kuro's... little brother?" Mahiru asked.

"No, he must be off his rocker," Kuro told him while staring at me. "I've never met him before. Tsubaki started laughing again, squeezing my neck tighter as he did.

"Terrible! Heartbreaking! So you don't know who I am, either?" Tsubaki asked him while laughing. "None of my Servamp siblings know I existed! Can you imagine?" He finally stopped laughing and looked at Mahiru. "Say... Do you know how many Servamps there are, kid?"

"There's seven of us," Kuro answered for Mahiru.

"Sure. It's Seven. Sleepy Ash of Sloth. Old Child of Pride. Doubt Doubt of Envy. The Mother of Wrath. Lawless of Greed. World End of Gluttony. And of course, All of Love of Lust. You might think that these seven are the only true vampires in the world. But there's actually one more in the family. I'm the Servamp of Melancholy. The eighth true vampire in our line. My nickname is "Who is Coming"." And I am the youngest of the Servamps."

"Kuro, you have so many siblings. Is it 'cause you're a cat?" Mahiru asked him.

"No. And besides, I'm the only cat of the litter," Kuro told him from behind him. Tsubaki threw me towards the other two before jumping up in the air with his own chuckles. He spun in the air before transforming into his animal form. A fox. He landed on Mahiru's arm as Kuro transformed and laid on his shoulder.

"He's right. This is what I can transform into." Tsubaki started chasing Kuro around on Mahiru's shoulders.

"Hey, get off me if you're gonna chase each other!" Tsubaki jumped away and transformed back into his human form. "So, you're a dog, huh?"

"You need to relearn your animals," I told him.

"Don't insult me by calling me that," Tsubaki told him. "My form is a fox." He started laughing again before sighing. "Not interesting at all."

"Tsu-Tsu. These three idiots kept me from murdering all those people like you ordered me to. They ruined everything."

"Tsubaki. Why do you want to kill so many people?" Mahiru asked him.

"Oh, you want a motive?" Tsubaki asked him. "Maybe it's just that I'm not so fond of humans. You understand, right?" Tsubaki started shaking the doll slightly. "You attacked this vampire because you didn't like him. It's the same thing. Tell me... Do you know how many people died in this town yesterday? No idea, right? Then does it really matter how many of them we killed? Does it make a difference? No, I think not."

"Are you crazy?! Of course, it matters!" Mahiru yelled at him. "Why hurt innocent people when they haven't done anything to you?!"

"That's just it," Tsubaki told him. "They'd all be much more interesting if they could only realize they're an integral part of my big plans for the future. Especially you..." Tsubaki's leg crashed down on Kuro knocking him off Mahiru's shoulder and onto his human back. He slammed his foot down on Kuro's throat making the older Servamp cough up splatters of blood. "...my dear brother, little Sleepy Ash." He lifted his kimono sleeve and flowers fell out of it before transforming into the hilt of a katana. "Hey, don't just lie there. Now that we're together, why don't we play? All of you have forgotten about me. No... you want to forget. I won't let you. I want us to reunite in a great big party. Why don't you call the rest of our siblings here for me, brother? My teacher would be so happy if we could all gather together in one place. Then I could make this world-regret everything-its entire worthless existence!" Tsubaki swung his sword down, but I blocked it with my daggers. Kuro kicked him away from us, but Tsubaki spun and attacked again. I blocked him again and forced his blade off mine.

"Kuro! Drink my blood!" Mahiru told him.

"No thanks." Tsubaki attacked again and Kuro blocked with his jacket tails. "I'm still really sore from yesterday."

"You're so lazy!" Mahiru insulted. Tsubaki forced the tails away and Kuro jumped back. Tsubaki just followed him and kicked him in the back, forcing him back to the ground again. Tsubaki smashed his foot into Kuro's chest making him cough blood once more. I threw my daggers at him and he dodged before coming to attack me.

"Don't!" Mahiru tried making his way to us, but Tsubaki placed his blade in Mahiru's face. "I don't get it. You want to start a war? Why?" Tsubaki kicked me into Kuro and sent us spinning away from the pair. "Kuro! Kokoro!" Tsubaki grabbed Mahiru by the neck and lifted him up in the air.

"Because it would be interesting. I don't really care who lives or dies. The only thing that matters to me it that it's entertaining to witness. A kid like you has no idea how I feel. Not just you, nobody gets me. No one in the world truly understands how I yearn."

"Nothing's interesting to you because you aren't facing your feelings honestly," Mahiru told him. "It's no wonder you're so bored. You feel like no one understands you, but you don't even understand yourself. So how is anyone else supposed to care about what you want?"

"Huh?" Tsubaki threw Mahiru to the ground before he started laughing again. "Maybe you're right. But that just makes me want to start a war even more! Fighting is a method of communication. Look at it that way."

"No! You're wrong!" Mahiru shouted at him. "I won't let you do this. I'll stop you before you can kill anyone else. I'll use everything I've learned about Servamps in the last day." We watched Mahiru stand up and glare at Tsubaki. "If I name you and make you drink my blood, then you'll have to obey me, right? That's how it works. So I challenge you to face me head on! Mahiru ran up to him and grabbed his shirt. "But first I'll give you a new name."

"Really?" Tsubaki asked him. "But what if someone murders you before you're able to do that?"

"Mahiru! Watch out!" Tsubaki swung his sword again, aiming for Mahiru's neck. I tried to block it while Kuro tried to get the boy out of the way like he had last night. Suddenly, we were in an alleyway. Kuro was laying on his stomach with Mahiru on top of him and me on top of them both. I got off them and sat next to Kuro's head, leaning on the wall. Mahiru quickly rolled so he wasn't upside down.

Gah! What happened? And where are we?" Mahiru asked us.

"Somebody must have saved us," Kuro sighed. "Probably another Servamp." I remembered the pink and black butterfly flying away from us.

"One of your sibling?" Mahiru asked. "Really?"

"Yeah, if I had to guess."

"I'd guess it was..."

"Mahiru Shirota." We all turned to see two little girls with pink hair and red eyes looking at us. They were holding hands and held the other two out to us. "Please follow us. All of Love is summoning you now-Come!"

"Who, me?" Mahiru asked them.

"Please."

"What a drag." Kuro transformed before jumping on top of Mahiru's head. "I think I'll sit this one out."

"I know it's out of the ordinary, but I must insist you come with me." A boy sitting in a chair told Mahiru. "And I won't accept any answer other than "yes"."

* * *

We all loaded up into the kid's limo and drove off. The kid sat next to the window and Mahiru while I sat between the twins with Kuro on my lap while they pet him.

"So are you the one that they call All of Love?" Mahiru asked him.

"I'm not," the kid denied. "My name is Misono Alicein."

"Misono Alicein?"

"I'm the Eve for All of Love. The seventh Servamp."

"Eve?"

"The human who holds a contract with a Servamp," I told him.

"You're Kokoro Shirogane, right?" Misono asked me. "The former Eve of Sloth?"

"I was."

"Oh, so we're the same. I'm an Eve, too!" Mahiru said happily. Misono said nothing to him.

"That's my place ahead." I looked out the window to see a large mansion the limo was pulling up to.

"Holy Crap!" Mahiru exclaimed. "This place is gigantic." We climbed out of the car and stared at the home in front of us. Misono sighed before sitting down in the same chair as before again.

"I'm tired. Let's rest a bit."

"It's only been 5 minutes since we got out of the car and you have to sit?!" Mahiru shouted at the boy. "And where did that chair even come from?!" Someone started laughing close by and Mahiru turned to find the voice as he started talking.

"Unfortunately, Misono has something of a weak constitution, my dear Mahiru." On Misono's head, was sitting a pink and black butterfly that seemed to glow purple.

"What are you looking at?" Misono asked us.

"All of Love," I told him. He looked confused for a moment before throwing his hand in the air.

"Gah! Lilly, I keep telling you not to land in my hair!" Misono waved his Servamp off his head

"A butterfly?" Mahiru asked confused. The butterfly transformed into All of Love with his shirt hanging off his shoulders and partially open.

"Nice to meet you. Please let me know if there's anything you desire," All of Love told us. A shiver ran up my spine.

"Put your clothes back on!" Misono ordered while throwing a shoe at his Servamp's head.

"What? I was just trying to make a good impression," All of Love told him.

"It didn't work," I told him. Once All of Love was fully clothed he stood beside his Eve with a large grin on his face.

"Allow me to introduce this stripping perv, All of Love. The Servamp of Lust."

"My Eve has given me the name of Snowlily. But please, feel free to call me whatever you'd like." Lilly started to take his shirt off again as he spoke.

"Stop that!" Misono punched the vampire in the back to stop him from stripping again.

"You haven't changed at all, have you?" Kuro asked him. He'd transformed back into his human form still on Mahiru's shoulder. The weight of Kuro was too much and Mahiru collapsed under the weight as the Lust pair moved to the door.

"It's very nice to see you, too, brother. Now please, come inside," Lilly told us.

"Get off of me," Mahiru ordered.

"I am the one who helped you out behind the scenes with that horrible magician business," Lilly told us.

"Oh, thank you!" Mahiru thanked. "It's nice to meet someone on our side. There are so many things I want to ask you guys."

"Before we get to your questions, there's something we have to ask you," Lilly told us once we were in a room between the pair and the twins. "I didn't help you out just because I was feeling kind, unfortunately." The door closed and the three of us turned to Misono and the twins. Lilly transformed back into a butterfly and Misono moved the collar of his shirt to reveal his neck.

"Here, Lilly." Lilly landed on his neck and took some blood before transforming again. The pink and black chain appeared between the two and a scythe appeared in Lilly's hands. I summoned my daggers and prepared for a fight.

"Don't." I glanced at Kuro and he shook his head at me. "Don't fight him." I let my daggers go with a sigh before looking back at the four in front of us.

"Mahiru, you bastard. I hear you didn't launch a single attack when you faced Tsubaki today."

"Misono... You know about Tsubaki, t-"

"You haven't earned the right to say my name," Misono interrupted him. "How pathetic. You don't understand what it means to be a Servamp's master at all. Mahiru Shirota. You must become my servant. I'll give the orders now. And you'll tell Sloth and his Subclass what I want them to do. I'm afraid you don't have a choice. You must say "yes"." Lilly jumped and attacked us, and we all ducked.

"I really would like to resolve this peacefully if it's at all possible. You'll be a good boy and play along nicely, now, won't you?" Lilly asked while attacking again and while he left Kuro and I alone, Mahiru wasn't so lucky. The boys and I were backed against a wall with Lilly smiling down on us.

"Things are turning into a mess again," Kuro sighed.

"You can't just order us around!" Mahiru tried explaining to them. "I only came here to get some answers!"

"You're not very quick on the uptake, are you?" Misono asked. "Ugh, this is why I hate working with commoners."

"What?" Mahiru asked confused. "Look, you're obviously rich, but do you really have to act like such an arrogant jerk to us? How do you expect me to trust you after you showed up outta nowhere and demanded that we obey you?"

"Peasant! How dare you talk to me that way?" Misono jumped up from his chair angrily at Mahiru.

"That's it, Kuro, we're leaving!" Mahiru grabbed a cat Kuro by the scruff of his neck and my wrist before dragging us to the door. Mahiru slammed his shoulder into the door and we ran down the hallway. We ran through the mansion until we arrived in what looked like an outdoor courtyard surrounded by four walls with large windows in them and a large fountain in the middle. "Man. This place is like one big maze."

"Yeah, this definitely isn't the way out," Kuro said from Mahiru's shoulder. Suddenly, thousands of glowing red eyes looking down at us and whispering.

"Who are they?" Kuro asked him. "Children? And why are there so many? They can't all be Lilly's kids, can they? I know he's Lust, but that is nuts!"

"No, no- Certainly not." Mahiru jumped in surprised at Lilly showing up behind him. "All those cute kiddos are just my subclass."

"Your subclass?" Mahiru asked and looked at me.

"We're lower-level vampires that were created by Servamps," I explained.

"They're our servants. They follow the orders of the vampire who created them," Lilly told them.

"So those kids are vampires, too."

"Tsubaki's minions have started killing subclasses like these children," Lilly told us and I saw Kuro's fur stand. "They seem to be his first targets. We know of two who were murdered this week alone. Possibly more." Misono appeared panting for breath.

"Do you know how to play chess, Mahiru?" Misono panted.

"I guess. Why?" Mahiru asked him.

"As the game goes on, the number of pieces on the board gets smaller and smaller. But as long as your king survives, you win. It's unfair. And it's not how battles should be fought in the real world, either, understand? I don't want to hide on some throne and be protected. That's why I need all the power I can get on my side. I need so much more than I have-" He grunted before having to sit in the chair that seemed to follow him. "Tell me, what do you plan on doing with your strength? There's a single Eve for every Servamp, and you're one of them. So what's driving you? Can you use Sloth's powers to achieve your goals?"

"Mahiru Shirota." The twins were standing in front of us again. "You'll help this lonesome king, won't you? Please?"

"You know... I get it," Mahiru told him. "Simply speaking, you're just trying to protect people. I don't think you have to do all this alone. Wouldn't it help if others were by your side? You need allies. Misono... Kuro, Kokoro, and I will help you. Only not as your servants, but as your friends." Mahiru held his hand out to him as Kuro and I sat against the fountain watching them.

"Hey, don't drag me into this," Kuro told him.

"He's your Eve," I reminded him. "Where he goes, we go."

"Don't remind me."

"Okay, I guess. If you won't be a servant-then we can try things out this way. It's not that big a difference," Misono said. I smirked at him as Lilly chuckled. "What do you think you're laughing at, Lilly?!" Lilly transformed back into a butterfly and flew away from him. "Come back here! By the ay, Mahiru... Since you're new to this, you don't have a weapon yet, do you?"

"Weapon?" Mahiru asked confused.

"Of course! You don't plan on fighting vampires empty-handed. An Eve has the ability to wield a custom weapon created from their Servamp's power," Mahiru explained.

"What? Seriously?" Mahiru asked.

"What a novice. I suppose I'll have to teach you everything, won't I? Why haven't you told him about it Kokoro?" Misono asked.

"He never asked me to." I shrugged my shoulders.

"Yeah," Mahiru said with a smile. "Please do! You'll be like my mentor." Misono glared at the kid who just grinned at him.

* * *

"Mahiru?" I yawned on Mahiru's shoulder as Kuro slept in his bag. "So you decided to keep the cats after all." Mahiru's green-haired friend, Sakuya, said coming into the store we were in.

"Uh-Yeah."

"Better watch out, then-you know black cats are really bad luck."

"Oh don't worry," Mahiru told him. "They're just normal cats."

"Okay, fine, if you say so," the boy said.

"Ooh! I think I'm gonna buy this wristband," Mahiru said picking up a black and white cloth wristband."

"What?" Sakuya asked him.

"Remember? I lost mine somewhere."

"No, you can't do that, because, you see... Aw, jeez! Here!" the boy blushed as he handed a back to Mahiru.

"Uh..." Mahiru took the bag and dug inside it before pulling out a wristband. "For me?"

"After you told me you lost yours, I saw this. I figured I'd go ahead and buy it. I was gonna give it to you later."

"Sakuya." I looked between the boys to see them both blushing. Did they like each other or something?

"I know it's kinda weird, but don't make a big deal of it," Sakuya told him.

"I won't, but thank you, Sakuya."

"I feel dumb now," Sakuya said throwing his arm around Mahiru's shoulders. I moved into the backpack with Kuro and fell asleep.


End file.
